The Beginning
by Spirits Among Stars
Summary: It's the beginning of the Enterprise journey. Klaang has to be taken back to Qo'noS and Phlox is chosen by Archer to come with them. But he doesn't have plans on going alone. Rated T because of medical scenes and just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

2151

Phlox has been on call to Starfleet Medical for a number of years. He had encountered only a handful of Klingons during his whole medical career. But now he and several other medical staff had the chance to delve into Klingon anatomy.

It was late in the evening and Phlox was sitting in his office on one of the higher levels of the Starfleet Medical building. He was doing some admin, when his colleague, Doctor Allethiah Naldi, chimed his door. "Enter." Phlox said, looking up from his computer.

The door slid open, revealing the blue skin of the female Doctor. She was dressed in the usual medical garb with an addition, a small hole for her blue tail. Allethiah wasted no time in getting to the point, "Phlox. We are need in ICU immediately." Her teal hair was tied in a braided bun.

Phlox instantly shut off his computer. "Who is the patient?" He grabbed his stethoscope and he locked the room.

"A Klingon. Male." Allethiah replied as they hastily walked down the corridor. "He's unconscious at the moment and we are keeping it that way. That's all I know- he's just been brought in."

Phlox nodded and they entered the Turbolift. "Why us?"

"We are the only ones here who know enough about Klingon anatomy to heal him."

"Ah."

They took the Turbolift to the Intensive Care Unit. They hurried down the corridor until they reached Klaang's ICU. Tubes and monitoring devices were still being added to Klaang's gigantic frame as they entered. A small team of doctors and nurses were already busily tending to him and two armed Security Guards stood watch.

Phlox hung his stethoscope around his neck and began work on the Klingon. The medical team monitored Klaang closely and found that his autonomic system was disrupted by the blast but Klaang's redundant neural functions were still intact which means he won't die.

Soon, Starfleet officers and a group of Vulcans entered the anteroom but the Doctors and nurses were too busy with Klaang. Another Starfleet officer entered and shortly Klaang was stable enough to respond to treatment even though he was still unconscious.

Suddenly an officer rushed into the room and signalled at Phlox. "Excuse me." The officer asked. "Is this man dead?"

Phlox responded in a hurried voice, "His autonomic system was disrupted by the blast but his redundant neural functions are still intact which-"

"Is he going to die?" The Human asked again.

"Not necessarily." Phlox answered.

The Human turned back to the Vulcans and Starfleet, and returned to the anteroom. They continued they debate.

"That was odd." Allethiah uttered when the door closed.

Phlox nodded in agreement. "Indeed." The Doctors returned to work, checking Klaang's vital signs and his reaction to the treatment.

The displeased Vulcans realized that their debate was over, and they quickly left. Before long the rest of the Humans leave but one, the one that rushed in walked to the large window and rapped on the glass.

Phlox, Allethiah and a couple of nurses turned to look. He gestured for Phlox come over.

Phlox looked surprised, "Me?" He moved towards the Human, curiously. Phlox opened the door and stepped out of the ICU. "You wanted me?"

The Human nodded. "I'm Jonathan Archer, Captain of the Enterprise NX-01."

"I am Doctor Phlox." Phlox smiled. The men shook hands.

Archer asked, "You know how to treat the Klingon?"

"Yes, I know enough. Why?" Phlox answered.

"We need to take him back to Qo'noS, his homeworld." Archer told him. "We need a Doctor. Will you come with us?"

"Of course!" Phlox said happily. "It will give me chance to study you in close detail."

"Fantastic." Archer replied clasping his hands together. "I'll send you a shuttlepod once you've packed."

When Archer turned to leave Phlox held up his hand to stop him. "Captain." Archer turned around. "One of my colleagues knows Klingon anatomy too- she also speaks one of the dialects. She would be a great help to the mission." Phlox gestured with his head to Allethiah in the room behind him.

Archer glanced at her and thought for a moment, he then nodded. "Alright, she can come too. I'll meet you on the ship." With that Archer left.

Phlox grinned and returned into the ICU where Klaang was already being prepped to move. Allethiah approached the Denobulan from the other side of the Biobed. "What he ask you?"

"The Captain needs a Doctor who knows about Klingon anatomy." Phlox said with a grin. "He was requested that we company him to the Klingon homeworld."

"Wait," Allethiah responded, holding up a finger. "We?"

Phlox nodded his head. "We are to take a shuttle to the Enterprise as soon as we have our belongings together and the Klingon ready."

"That's brilliant." Allethiah smiled excitedly. "Thank you!"

* * *

An hour later Klaang was loaded into a Vulcan medical shuttlepod; it was too dangerous to transport him to the ship in case we became unstable in the beam and were unable to get him out in time. Phlox, Allethiah and unconscious Klaang journeyed to the Enterprise and docked at the nearest airlock to Sickbay. Another shuttle, which was behind them, contained the rest of the medical equipment the Enterprise needed, as well as Phlox's multitude of creatures.

After they had docked two security officers came to the docking port and escorted the party to Sickbay. They carefully loaded Klaang onto the Biobed by the imagining chamber and turned on the monitors. The security officers stood by the door.

"You are going to have plenty of room to keep your animals, Phlox." Allethiah said, as she walked around Sickbay.

Phlox nodded and made a sound of approval. "It's going to be hard to find a place to put them." He replied looking around the room.

Soon, all of Phlox's creatures were brought to Sickbay and the two Doctors started sorting everything into cabinets. Archer entered Sickbay and looked around at all the unopened boxes and cages. Allethiah noticed the Captain standing by the doorway.

She walked over to him with a smile and an open hand. "Captain Archer I presume?" The two shook hands.

"I am," Archer said, "and you are Phlox's colleague?"

"Doctor Allethiah Naldi," She informed him. "But everyone calls me Allethiah."

Archer smiled even though he was rather distracted by her swaying tail and blue skin. "Pleasure to meet you."

Allethiah smiled and chuckled. "You've never meet a Mhoad before have you?"

"Urm," Archer shook his head. "No... are you sure you're not Andorian?"

Allethiah laughed again. "Common misconception. The only thing we have in common is blue skin, that is all."

"No antennae?"

"No antennae, just a tail."

The Captain nodded in understanding still ever so creeped out by the tail. Allethiah chuckled. A container caught Archer's eye, he picked up a jar that was filled with a viscous pink fluid. Tiny corkscrew organisms flittered through the liquid. He turned the jar back and forth, studying the tiny creatures.

"Love what you've done with the place." Archer stated to the two of them.

"Those are immunocytic gel worms, try not to shake them." Phlox advised Archer as he continued to place the various the jars and tools, which were definitely not Starfleet issue, into the cabinets.

Archer handed Phlox the jar of pink fluid, and continued to pass him other articles out of a large packing case. "So, what'd you think of Earth?" Archer enquired.

"Intriguing." Phlox answered. "I especially liked the Chinese food. Have you ever tried it?"

"I've lived in San Francisco all my life."

"Anatomically, you humans are somewhat simplistic... but what you lack biologically you make up for with your charming optimism... not to mention your egg drop soup." Phlox smiled and passed a small box to Allethiah, he looked at Archer. "Be very careful with the blue box."

Archer gingerly passed him a small blue box with breathing holes on either side. A creature skittered within. "What's in there?"

"An Altarian marsupial... their droppings contain the greatest concentration of regenerative enzymes found anywhere."

Archer replied uncomfortably, "Their droppings?"

"If you're going to try to embrace new worlds... you must try to embrace new ideas." Phlox said. "That's why the Vulcans initiated the Interspecies Medical Exchange... there's a lot to be learned!"

"I'm sorry I had to take you away from your program... but our doctors haven't even heard of a Klingon." Archer confessed.

"Please, no apologies!" Phlox and Allethiah exclaimed. "What better time to study human beings than when they're under pressure? It's a rare opportunity."

Phlox glanced to Klaang then back to Archer. "And your Klingon friend... I've never had a chance to examine a living one before."

"I have, after a bit of forced cooperation." She chuckled at the memory, "How long until Qo'noS?"

"Lieutenant Mayweather tells me we'll be to Qo'noS in about eighty hours." Archer said. "Any chance he'll be conscious by then?"

"There's a chance he'll be conscious within the next ten minutes..." Phlox replied with a smile. "Just not a very good one."

"Eighty hours, Doctor." Archer warned. "If he doesn't walk off this ship on his own two feet, he doesn't stand much of a chance."

Phlox looked slightly doubtful. "I'll do the best I can." Archer turned to leave. "Optimism, Captain!" Phlox smiled a grin of inhuman proportions. Allethiah chortled behind him.

Archer looked slightly shocked at the huge grin and soon realized he's gotten all he's going to get out of the new doctors. He walked to Klaang, stopped for a beat, and then headed for the door.

* * *

**You all know what happens next in Broken Bow so I'm gonna leave it here.  
**

**Live Long and Prosper! Thanks for reading :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait. I've been up to the sky in college work and I've got some exams coming up to. I'm a tad bit sketchy on Broken Bow so I had to watch it a couple times to remember what happened. I hope I got everything in the correct order.**

**I don't own anything, it's just for fun.**

* * *

When the doors closed Phlox turned al Allethiah as she spoke. "That smile of yours is going to end up scaring the whole ship."

Phlox chortled, "Aliens have different ways of smiling, they'll have to get used to mine. And besides, I think your tail will scare the most crew."

Allethiah hummed in agreement and nodded. "Possibly." They walked to one of the larger cages; this particular one housed a female Pyrithian bat. They put it on top of one of the counters. It squeaked at the movement.

Phlox distributed smaller containers in their respective cupboards, whilst Allethiah put a jar of some strange creature in a cabinet. The two Doctors managed to sort out all of the animals and medical equipment into their new homes. The creatures seemed happy in their environment with the occasional content grumbles and chirps. But suddenly they went quiet.

"We've reached warp four." Allethiah stated. Phlox gave her a strange look. "What? I may have read some- a paper on warp flight." Phlox chuckled and shook his head with a smile. "I wanted to prepared."

Warp was pitched higher and there was a tiny shudder. The engines hummed louder as the ship accelerated. "Whoa." Phlox breathed.

Allethiah chuckled. "It's nothing bad."

"Speak for yourself. You're the one whose spend 5 years on a Vulcan ship."

Allethiah held up a finger. "On and off." She corrected. Klaang stirred violently, Allethiah rushed to tighten the straps while Phlox contacted Archer.

"Archer." The Captain said.

"This is Doctor Phlox, Captain. Our patient is regaining consciousness."

"Oh my way." Archer replied.

As Phlox turned off the com. Klaang started shouting in Klingon. Phlox looked at Allethiah. "What's he saying?"

Allethiah shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not familiar with this dialect."

* * *

Soon Archer and Hoshi Sato joined the two Doctors. After a quick introduction and a de-brief on Klaang's ramblings, they got to work. Archer, Hoshi, Allethiah gathered around the bio-bed. Phlox sat at his desk. "Pung: g:hap HoS!" Klaang shouted. A security guard armed with a rifle stood watch. Hoshi worked with a PADD.

"What's wrong?" The Captain asked Hoshi.

"The translator's not locking onto his dialect... the syntax won't align."

"DujDaj Hegh!" Hoshi hesitated, trying to find the words.

"Tell him we're taking him home." Archer said.

Allethiah watched the scene intently. "Ingan Hoch... juH." Hoshi said, not entirely confident.

Klaang responded, "Tujpa'qyl Dun?"

Hoshi looked at Archer, "He wants to know who we are." Archer nodded- tell him. "Ou'ghewme Enterprise. PugloD."

"Nenta luHom."

"LupHom" ..."ship" ..." Hoshi whispered. "He's asking for his ship back."

"Say it was destroyed." Archer told her.

"SonchI."

"Vengen Sto'vo'kor Dos!"

Hoshi frowned, puzzled. "I'm not sure... but I think he's saying something about "eating the afterlife"." Allethiah raised a startled eyebrow.

Archer was frustrated. "Try the translator again." Allethiah watched as Phlox grabbed one of his scanners and walked up to Klaang.

Hoshi worked the PADD, shook her head. "I-I-I'm going to need to run what we've got through the phonetic processor." Phlox scanned the Klingon. Allethiah observed Phlox amd moved forward.

"MajOa blmoHgu!" Klaang shouted urgently.

"He says... "his wife has grown ugly"." Archer sighed. "I'm sorry, Captain... I'm doing the best I can.

Allethiah glanced at the scanner. "Excuse me." Phlox interrupted. They turned to him. Phlox was checking the scanner. "His pre-frontal cortex is hyperstimulated... I doubt he has any idea what he's saying."

"HljolOaOqu'na!" Klaang shouted. Allethiah knew this one, she giggled silently.

"I think the Doctor's right, Captain... unless "stinky boots" has something to do with all this."

Suddenly, the ship shuddered as it dropped out of warp. Hoshi looked uncomfortable. "That's the warp reactor again, right?"

"OaOgu'na!"

Concerned, Archer tapped the com button om the imanging chamber. "Bridge, report."

"We've dropped out of warp, sir. Main power is-" A brief burst of static, then the com went dead. The lights started to flicker and the consoles began to go out one by one. The lights abruptly shut off. Allethiah fumbled around for some light beacons and handed them to Archer and Hoshi. Phlox got some from a nearby shelf. The security officer used his. She blinked a couple of times to get her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Her ears became more sensitive.

Klaang continued to bellow. Chirps and whistles came from the various creatures around Sickbay.

"Auxiliary power should've kicked in by now..." Archer said, looking around. There was another outburst from Klaang. "Do you know how to tell him to shut up?"

"Shut up!" The Ensign shouted angrily.

Klaang continued to shout desbite being told to shut it.

"Sedate him if you have to." Archer told Phlox. "I need to get to the Bridge." Archer headed for the door.

"Captain!" Hoshi said urgently. He turned. Hoshi moved her light across a wall at the far end of Sickbay. "There's someone here."

"Hoshi..." Archer said doubtful.

"I'm telling you, there's someone here."

She stopped as her beacon illuminated a humanoid figure. Like a chameleon, it had taken on the appearance of its background, barely visible.

"There." Allethiah said quietly. Once discovered, the figure leaped back into the darkness. Archer moved slowly forward and scanned the area where Hoshi saw the figure. He didn't look convinced.

The sound of scuttling shifted past them on the ceiling. They turned their attention to it. Archer looked around for the source of the sound. Allethiah shone her torch over Sickbay, she an Phlox exchanged worried looks.

Archer's light found a second Suliban perched like a spider high on a ceiling. He was not camouflaged like the first. "Crewman!" Archer shouted.

A glimmer of recognition fell over Klaang's face, he shuts up finally. "Suliban."

As the guard raised his rifle, the Suliban leaped to the ground. A third Suliban quickly darted into the shadows. The guard fired toward them. Bright red plasma bullets lit up the room in a series of quick, stroboscopic flashes. Phlox retreated back fearful. The guard sensed motion behind him, he turned to take aim. A Suliban lunged toward him. He hit the deck hard. His weapon hit the floor.

Klaang was erectly looking around in confusion. Hoshi was crouching low to avoid the gunfire, scanning Sickbay with her light. She yelped as one landed dead in front of her. Allethiah quickly looked around the room, trying to locate the Suliban. Klaang looked up to see a Suliban on the ceiling directly over him. The creature dropped.

Silence. Suddenly, there was a surge as warp power come back on line and the lights and consoles activated. They looked around.

The Guard was lying on the floor, dazed. Archer hurried over to him but noticed something was wrong. Hoshi was stood up. Archer edged towards the bio-bed, which was now empty. Klaang and the Suliban were gone.

Phlox hurried to the crewman. "Are you alright?"

"I need to go to the bridge." Archer said hurridly. "Will you be alright here?"

"Go." Allethiah said. Hoshi followed Archer out.

Allethiah and Phlox helped the crewman to his feet. Allethiah scanned the crewman's head. "Just a mild concussion. You'll be fine." Allethiah shifted her attention to the dead alien on the floor. "We need to do an autopsy."


End file.
